Cheese Day or National Cheese Lovers Day is celebrated on January 20th each year. This delectable food has been on the menu for at least the last 8000 years, ever since animal herders needed to find a way to preserve milk. Today, there are hundreds of varieties of cheese—and thousands of ways to enjoy it. Of course in the U.S., there a handful of cheeses that get most of the attention. The average American eats over ten pounds of cheddar and ten pounds of mozzarella per year. The nation also exports more than 220,000 metric tons of cheese to other countries each year (and imports about 140,000 metric tons from countries like France and Italy).

There’s a lot more than just a cheese sampling or fondue party to enjoy on Cheese Lovers Day. Fans of this food can get physical and try their hand at making cheese. In Great Britain, there are even sporting events that involve this favorite dairy product—like cheese rolling contests in which participants chase a hefty wheel of cheese down a steep hill. The winner is the one who can catch the slippery wheel.